Harley-Davidson has unveiled a new line of motorcycles for 2014 that the company is calling "the largest scale new model launch" in its 110-year history. The company staged a Denver press event to spotlight eight new machines that the company says will feature improved power, improved braking, enhanced aerodynamics and superior ergonomics -- all part of an ambitious campaign to modernize the company's reputation as a producer of venerable but somewhat dated motorcycles. The company promises the new bikes "pass faster, stop quicker and see farther at night," as a result of the product improvements.

Yucaipa grad Matt Davidson had a two-run home run and Westlake grad Christian Yelich had two hits to help the United States defeat the World, 4-2, in the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday at Citi Field. Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

After being ignored for most of the evening, "Days of Our Lives" won the drama series prize at the 40th Daytime Emmy Awards - the first time it had been honored in that category since 1975. The NBC soap opera won only one other award Sunday in the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, with Chandler Massey picking up the Emmy for younger actor. PHOTOS: Daytime Emmys arrivals CBS' "The Bold and the Beautiful" won the writing and directing Emmys, and the show's Heather Tom won for the second year in a row as lead actress.

Los Angeles stock brokerage Crowell, Weedon & Co. on Wednesday said it was acquired by a larger rival, though terms were not released. Chief Executive Andrew Crowell said his firm was bought by D.A. Davidson & Co. The deal would further strengthen the firms, Crowell said. Combined, they will hold $43.5 billion in client assets, with Crowell Weedon bringing in $9 billion of that. Discussions of a combination began about three years ago, Crowell said, but really took off in the last year and a half.

Muriel Spark understood better than most novelists the peculiar fascination of hermetic worlds. She set "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" in a Scottish girls day school, "The Abbess of Crewe" in a convent run like the C.I.A. and her last novel, "The Finishing School," at a Swiss academy of questionable ethics. Jenny Davidson, a comparative literature professor at Columbia University and fiction writer, has inspired Sparkian comparisons with her new novel, "The Magic Circle," which focuses on a strange subset society all its own - the brainy bubble of Columbia University's Morningside Heights neighborhood.

Sherman Oaks high schooler Jake Davidson got an awesome wake-up call Wednesday morning as he found himself on the phone with Sports Illustrated cover girl Kate Upton, whom he'd recently very publicly invited to his prom - via YouTube. Chalk one up for "It never hurts to ask. " Upton had answered Tuesday afternoon via Twitter with a firm "maybe," saying, "You can call me Katie if you want! How could I turn down that video! I'll check my schedule. " Then the "Today" show snagged Davidson from bed in the wee hours Wednesday for a 7:45 a.m. chat about his video.

Mathematician Tim Chartier has the best job on Earth once a year: when the NCAA men's basketball tournament begins, so does March Mathness. His telephone rings, he's on the radio, he's talking to ESPN, and for once he can explain what exactly he does for a living at North Carolina's Davidson College. “For the first time in my life I can talk about what I'm doing, on a higher level, and people understand,” Chartier said. What Chartier does is use complex math to win the Final Four pool on a regular basis.

Harley-Davidson is taking advantage of this week's Daytona Bike Week to unveil a new addition to its stable of stylish street crawlers. This one is called Breakout. It's a mean machine, a throaty, growly beast with a low stance and a ton of low-end torque produced by the company's signature massive, belt-driven V-twin powertrain. The company calls the bike "an urban prowler, a bike ready for a midnight ramble to the roadhouse or a rib joint rendezvous with the crew. " Study: Motorcycling a $42 billion annual business That's about right.

Founder of the Mark Taper Forum, éminence grise of the regional theater movement, crusading champion of Los Angeles theater, Gordon Davidson was put in an unusual position last fall at USC's School of Dramatic Arts: He had to explain who he was to a group of undergraduates who had signed up for a semester-long course with him. Yet it didn't take him long to win over the class and to justify Dean Madeline Puzo's decision to greenlight the...

If there's anything that underscores Harley-Davidson's holiness in the motorcycle world, it's the company's announcement Monday that Pope Benedict XVI will bless its bikes at the Vatican next June as part of the Milwaukee manufacturer's 110th anniversary. While Harley, like much of the motorcycle industry, has suffered significant sales declines in recent years due to the global financial crisis, it remains a steadfast icon -- albeit an expensive one that many consumers aren't able to afford, even if they'd like to. Harley bikes retail for $7,999 to $38,599.